Drone maker Garuda Aerospace on Thursday unveiled its new agri-drone indigenisation facility in Chennai
Kamlesh Paswan, Union Minister of State for Rural Development, inaugurated the facility and also launched 300 Centres of Excellence (CoE) and flagged off Garuda Aerospace’s DGCA approved Train the Trainer (TTT) program.
The launch was also marked by a live demonstration of agri-drones by highly skilled Drone Didis.
Spread across 35,000 square feet, Garuda Aerospace’s Agri-drones facility is the country’s first of its kind hub for the design, manufacturing and rigorous testing of advanced Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). The facility aims to locally produce 7 subsystems and 33 parts, furthering the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Additionally, the 300 Centres of Excellence will function as after-sales support service centers, generating employment opportunities and training the next generation of drone pilots, Garuda said.
The Train-the-Trainer (TTT) program is Garuda’s flagship skill-building and development initiative to empower educators and professionals to become certified drone instructors.
Garuda Aerospace founder and CEO Agnishwar Jayaprakash said they have delivered 4,000 drones so far, and are confident we will achieve this target in the next two years.
Garuda Aerospace is a beneficiary of government schemes like Namo Drone Didi, SMAM subsidy, PLI, among others. The company has also supplied 450 out of the 500 drones under the Namo Drone Didi scheme and is now ready to supply additional 2,000 drones under the scheme. Garuda Aerospace is also India’s first drone company to receive dual DGCA certifications in both manufacturing and training.